Six years ago, Father Marcos Decis began an enormous project. The city dump and sewage plant was inhabited by more that 120 families living in subhuman conditions. The need was so great that soon Amigos por Cristo, a United States based non-governmental organization, took over and moved the entire population to a new home on a piece of land bought with a donation left behind by a cancer victim. This new community of 120 houses was named Santa Catalina in her memory. The inhabitants who used to “live” of off the city garbage, now drive bicycle taxis and work at textile factories.
The Villa Santa Catalina Community Library began a year after the village was settled. The first books and the construction of the small building were donated by a family in the United States. Now it has a collection of 800 books and one computer. The library is part of the Amigos por Cristo School, but it is open for the entire community.
A friendly 6th grader with his nose inside a book is Ezequiel. He is a little timid, but when there is something he can’t understand in the book he’s so interested in he asks the librarian a “ton” of questions. When the library hosts story times for kids, Ezequiel is almost always the first one to show up. He was only 5 years old when he was living with his family at the city dump. The knowledge he will gain through reading at this library will help him give his family a better life than the new one they already have.
This is how you can supply some of the library’s needs so that more kids can find better education. Donate:
Books
Video equipment
Computers
Internet access
Furniture
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